Life Story of Rula Woolsey Christensen by Meridene Christensen Grant and Granddaughter Karen Hovey

Inserito da

I’m Karen Hovey and I’m the daughter of Rula’s daughter, Meridene. I was asked to give my grandma’s life sketch, and then follow it with a few of my memories of my Grandma Rula.

Life Story of Rula Woolsey Christensen

Rula Woolsey was born August 30, 1919 in Escalante, Utah, to Tillman Woolsey and Alcea Heaps. Rula was the oldest of 8 brothers and sisters. Her father was a sheep herder and her mother was a homemaker. Her mother died when Rula was 16-years-old. Rula married Leavitt Christensen in 1937 and they had 3 children: Steven, Meridene, and Janet.

School:

Rula attended school in Escalante. She graduated from high school and seminary. Her favorite classes in school were sewing and history. She was a very good reader. She was the teacher’s helper and she would often stay to help straighten up after school. Sometimes her teacher would give her a dime and she would run over to the store to buy them each a candy bar.

Blessings:

When Rula was 15 years old, she became ill with pneumonia. She appeared to be close to death when Grandpa Woolsey and Uncle Emil came and gave her a blessing. She was healed immediately.

Another memorable blessing occurred in Olympia, Washington.

Rula had developed severe jaw pain. She went to many doctors without getting relief. Finally, she went to Seattle to a specialist. He said if he operated on it, it could paralyze her face. He said to think it over. On the way home, they stopped at their Bishop’s house. Leavitt and Bishop Nielsen gave Rula a blessing. When they lifted their hands off her head, she was healed and she never had the pain again.

Work experiences:

1. During WWII Rula mended silk stockings for customers of Montgomery Ward Department Store. Leavitt’s sister Jessie started first and had so much work that Rula began doing it also. This was before nylon stockings were available. Women couldn’t buy new silk stockings because of the war, so they had their stockings mended. Rula’s children were fascinated watching her mend the runs in silk stockings using her mending shuttle.

2. In about 1947, Rula ran the lunchroom for the Elementary School in Butlerville, Utah. Rula made rolls, pies, and lots of other homemade food. Afterwards she had to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. She made all the food and did the clean-up by herself.

3. She worked several years in Stone’s Candy Cane Factory in Olympia, Washington, mostly in the winter to get candy canes ready for Christmas sales. Rula’s job was to wrap the canes in cellophane. They shipped the canes all over the country. Her children enjoyed visiting her at work and watching the candy canes being made. She occasionally brought pieces home for the family to sample.

4. Rula also worked at Mottman’s Department Store on the top floor in the china and gift section in downtown Olympia. She did every kind of job there, including unpacking boxes, putting items on the shelves, dusting, sales and gift wrapping for quite a few years. She walked to work and home everyday. She made friends there and loved being around all the beautiful china and glassware.

5. In Kanosh, Leavitt and Rula ran the Kanosh Mercantile for a short time, as did Steven and Ella and Will and Janet. Rula baked bread to sell in the store.

6. When Steven and Ella owned the Meadowlark Cafѐ for a few years, Rula baked bread, her famous cookie sheet apple pie and cinnamon rolls to sell at the café. She also sold bread from home. She would often make up to 45 loaves of bread a day, all by hand.

Rula had many callings in the church.

As a young girl, Rula taught the Bluebird girls how to embroider a bluebird on a small piece of material. She was their same age, but she was the one who knew how to embroider. Later in her life, she was president of the Relief Society in Olympia. She also spent time as the Gleaner leader for young people working for the army at Fort Lewis.

Travels:

Rula and Leavitt had many opportunities to travel through their work and church service. They lived in France and Italy where Leavitt worked for the army as a civilian personnel officer. Rula assisted Leavitt while he was a mission president in Italy. They were temple missionaries in Switzerland and the Philippines, and visitor center missionaries in Cove Fort, Utah. In her service Rula used her talents of cooking, home decorating, sewing, sharing her testimony and enthusiasm. Leavitt and Rula had a wonderful adventurous live together.

When Leavitt and Rula moved to Kanosh in the 1970’s they purchased a pioneer home. They enjoyed fixing up the home, and filling it with their treasurers from their travels. They gardened and took care of animals in their large yard. Their children and grand children enjoyed the many meals they shared in their home.

When the upkeep of their house became too much, they moved into a comfortable grandparents’ apartment in the home of their granddaughter Cami. After Leavitt died in 2001, Rula continued to live there until she moved into the home of Steven and Ella.

Into her later years Rula walked regularly with friends, she continued her reading, her quilting, sewing and embroidering. She was also a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and attending meetings of the Red Hat Society. Rula had an enduring testimony of the Savior and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Written by daughter Meridene Christensen Grant, June 11, 2006

Granddaughter Karen Hovey Memories

Having lived always in cities far away from my grandparents, my memories come like snapshots in a picture book…

The beginning includes a visit as an 8 year-old to my grandparent’s large mission home in Rome – following Grandma down the road to the outdoor market for vegetables, watching her backyard cats, exploring her home and eating her lasagna. Then a few years later, gathering in Kanosh at Christmas time, again exploring her house, playing with cousins, each of us receiving a quilt on Christmas Eve, being surprised that grandma had made all of them herself. Then at college in Provo, gratefully receiving a dorm visit from my grandparents, visiting Kanosh during those years, eating wonderful Thanksgiving dinners, enjoying thick slices of grandma’s homemade bread with apricot pineapple jam. Going back to college with a box filled with her canned peaches, apricots, cherries and jam. A quilt for my wedding. Then visits through the years with my own children, swinging on the big swing in the back, family dinners and talking in Grandma’s sitting room.

For a very long time, I’ve thought that Queen Elizabeth of England had an uncanny resemblance to my grandmother. The queen shared my grandmother’s build, face shape and hair style. Queen Elizabeth seemed to copy my Grandma Rula’s taste in clothing, purses and shoes. When I would see a picture of Queen Elizabeth, I would tell my friends, “this is what my grandmother looks like.”

For years I never told my Grandmother that she reminded me of Queen Elizabeth. I imagined it was so obvious a resemblance, that if I did, she’d shrug her shoulders and tell me that people told her that all the time. But one day, I did mention that I thought so, and it made her laugh, her eyes sparkled and she said “Oh, you do?” like she’d never been told that before and she was pleased.

The reason I tell you this story, is because this moment illustrates my favorite part of my grandmother, her laugh, the sound of her voice, and the sparkling look of her face when something pleased her.

I lived in California, and when I would call her on the phone, I was always half worried that she would get me confused with one of her other granddaughters, probably one who lived close and she saw regularly. I’d quickly specify, “Hi, Grandma, it’s Karen.” And I’d be happy when she’d respond immediately with a chuckle and a very please, “Well, Karen.”

I have reminders of my Grandma Rula around me at home…a chair and a brass pot from Italy, the quilt on my son’s bed, a tiny pearl necklace she gave me as a child, her Meadow Lark Cafѐ apple pie that I impress my friends with, lasagna using her recipe that I can’t seem to get right, a story of her faith in paying tithing that I share with my seminary class.

I’ll miss being able to visit with my grandma, but I’m imagining that when we meet again, she’s going to get that look on her face, she’ll laugh and we’ll both be so pleased to see each other.

Thank you Grandma